Tracking the decline of the once-common butterfly: delayed oviposition, demography and population genetics in the hermit Chazara briseis

0355330 - BC 2011 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Kadlec, T. - Vrba, P. - Kepka, P. - Schmitt, T. - Konvička, Martin
Tracking the decline of the once-common butterfly: delayed oviposition, demography and population genetics in the hermit Chazara briseis.
Animal Conservation. Roč. 13, č. 2 (2010), s. 172-183. ISSN 1367-9430. E-ISSN 1469-1795
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT LC06073
Grant - others:GA MŽP(CZ) VaV/620/1/03; GA ČR(CZ) GD206/05/H012
Program: GD
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50070508
Keywords : allozyme electrophoresis * Lepidoptera * mark-recapture
Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour
Impact factor: 2.906, year: 2010

Large populations, seemingly not at risk of extinction, can decline rapidly due to alteration of habitat. This appears to be the case of the butterfly Chazara briseis, which is declining in all of Central and Eastern Europe, even from apparently large areas of its steppe grassland habitats. We combined mark-recapture, allozyme electrophoresis and adult behaviour observation to study the last remaining metapopulation of this once-widespread butterfly in the Czech Republic. The total population estimate was 1300 males and 1050 females in 10 colonies within a 70 km2 landscape. Adults were long-lived, and inseminated females required several weeks before they started ovipositing. Models using realistic lengths of the preoviposition period estimated that due to background mortality, only 25-55% of the female census population lived long enough to contribute to the next generation. This demographic load was unlikely to be balanced by an increased fecundity.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0194127